1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to vehicle movable closure locks such as vehicle door locks and more particularly to a device for attaching a lock cylinder to a vehicle body member such as a door outer panel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a typical means for attaching a lock cylinder 10 to a door outer panel 12. The door outer panel 12 is formed with a hole 12a to accommodate therein the outer end portion 10a of the lock cylinder 10. The lock cylinder 10 has an enlarged head 10c at the outward termination of the outer end portion 10a thereof and is adapted to be insertable only from the outside of the door outer panel 12. The lock cylinder 10 is fixed to the door outer panel 12 by means of a clip 14 which is fitted in an annular peripheral groove 16 provided to the outer end portion 10a of the lock cylinder 10 and cooperates with the enlarged head 10c of the lock cylinder 10 to clamp therebetween the door outer panel 12. The lock cylinder 10 is thus supported at the outer end portion 10a by the door outer panel 12 and has an inner free end 10b projecting inwardly of the vehicle body. A lock cylinder lever 18 is attached to the inner end portion 10b of the lock cylinder 10 and adapted to be swingable in response to rotation of a key inserted into the lock cylinder 10. The movement of the lock cylinder lever 18 is transferred through a control rod 20 to an unshown door locking mechanism to control locking and unlocking the door.
With such a lock cylinder attaching means, the lock cylinder 10 may be forcibly swung about the outer end portion 10a by using a screw driver or the like, making it possible to move the lock cylinder lever 18 upwardly and downwardly without using a key. Such movement of the lock cylinder lever 18 may possibly effect unlocking of the door. For this reason, the above described lock cylinder attaching means is undesirable from an antitheft point of view.